AMY’S Golden Lentil Soup on a rainy Wednesday

Living in Florida, it’s hard to complain about weather. But today was one of those icky days – at least for someone who spends most of her day in a highly air conditioned environment.

It started with listening to what can sometimes be the awesome sound of rain pelting the window. Awesome on a weekend morning when you can just hunker down under the covers and enjoy the sound, knowing you don’t have anywhere to be. Not so awesome when you have an air conditioning repairman coming and then have to get to work.

But, suffice it to say, thanks to Amy’s, my day ended better than it began.

Begrudgingly I made it to work, where I listened to the rain come down all day as I sit freezing cold in a place where the climate control is more concerned about computers and machines than about the actual human beings who enjoy not bundling up inside when it’s 90 degrees outside.

It was the perfect day for soup – and Amy’s answered the call. Just add a few extras and it was a complete meal in under an hour.

The main focus – the new-on-the-shelves Golden Curry Lentil Soup. Alone, it would have been more than enough to satisfy my hunger. But, I figured, why not kick it up a notch!

On the shopping list:
– Cauliflower
– Pappadum crackers (my first time not ordering on a menu)
– AMY’S KITCHEN Indian Dal Golden Lentil Soup

In the fridge:
– Lime
– Cilantro
– Garam Masala, Salt, Garlic
– EVOO

Other suggestions to have around:
– Greek yogurt
– Cardamom or other Indian spices

(and don’t forget the wine!)

THE PREPARATION:

First, me and “cooking” don’t really go hand in hand. It’s just me so I like it quick and easy and tasty.

First, preheat the oven to 350.
Then, break up the cauliflower into little pieces in a glass baking dish.
Drizzle some EVOO and shake or grind a little sea salt. And, once it reaches the right temp, pop it in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes.

While that cooks, if you’re doing pappadum and it requires frying, heat a little oil in a pan. I added some garlic to infuse the oil while it heated and then spooned it out. Not being a huge oil fan, I only heated about enough to cover the bottom.

Once it was hot, pop the poppadum in to fry it up a little and drop it on a paper towel. WARNING: the edges curl AND you’re going to need a pair of tongs. I flipped it after a few seconds then put it on the paper towel. This is where I shook a bit of garam masala on to add a little more taste.

Once they were all semi-fried, I decided to pop them in the oven to crisp them up a little. I highly recommend doing that.

Once those were done, chop up the cilantro, cut the lime, and pour the soup in a pot to heat.

After 25 minutes, I switched the oven over to broil for a few minutes to brown up the veggies.

Then, it was time to plate.

Pour the soup in a bowl. Garnish with cilantro and lime. Serve with the pappadum as a dipper and a side of cauliflower.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR GARNISH:
– Na’an bread
– Parsley
– Greek yogurt with cardamom
– Feta or Goat cheese
– And, as I always say, avocado makes everything better
– I also saw a suggestion to use the cauliflower like croutons as a garnish.

REVIEW:

YUM!! WARM!! HAPPY!! The Indian Dal Golden Lentil soup was wonderful. It was creamy with pieces of golden lentils and nice size pieces of carrots. The texture was smooth and satisfying. I love curry but I’m always a little hesitant because I don’t love spicy. This was the perfect balance of warming and spciy without being too over the top, and the squeeze of lime added a little zest to balance it out. Because of the smooth texture, the soup heated very evenly – no cold areas mixed in with the boiling hot spoonfuls.

I would almost say there was a touch of sweetness to it although there were no sugars added to it at all.

Like many soups that are high in sodium and you end up guzzling water when you’re done and don’t always realize why, this was seasoned enough to be satisfying but definitely not too salty. I’m not finding myself dying of thirst.

I didn’t even finish the can and I can honestly say I’m more than satisfied – which is rare for me.